Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
DOL recently settled a case against a major construction company, whose list of legal failures provides a good checklist of infractions every company should strive to avoid. (You’ll also avoid the almost $1 Million fine the company will pay to settle the case.) DOL’s action against Lettire Construction Corp., which was punctuated by the substantial […]
Many employers get sued for failing to properly administer compensable time — including the requirement that generally, employers must pay employees for time spent in training programs, meetings or similar activities. So to avoid costly litigation or enforcement challenges, an employer needs to understand — and correctly apply —the Fair Labor Standards Act’s basic criteria […]
Yesterday’s Advisor featured tips for avoiding wage/hour suits; today, specific guidance on gender discrimination in compensation, plus an introduction to the very practical, time-saving 10-Minute HR Trainer. Without quite realizing it, employers can easily create situations that seem to smack of gender discrimination. And once there’s the appearance of discrimination, the lawyers will be looking […]
Wal-Mart has settled a lawsuit over unpaid wages to over 200,000 workers that could cost them up to $86 million. Over the past few years, the giant retailer has paid as much as $640 million to settle 63 federal and state class-action lawsuits alleging unpaid wages. And what about your organization? Your settlement costs probably […]
You may think that the federal, state and local courts move at a glacial pace, but they often deliberate and resist change of opinion on employment law matters because, well, the modern workplace is a living, breathing, complex organism. Telecommuting is one such complexity, as are the multitude of situations that employers need to consider […]
Employees often view the telework option as a form of recognition. They may see it as a privilege earned through good performance. Unfortunately, they also may see the work-life perk — offered to some, but not all — as an entitlement, or worse, they may see lack of telecommuting privileges as an inequity caused by […]
Reimbursement rates for lodging, meals and incidental expenses for fiscal year 2013, which begins Oct. 1, will be frozen at FY 2012 levels, the U.S. General Services Administration announced Aug. 27. GSA is the arm of the federal government that sets travel policy for federal employees. The reimbursement rates, commonly called per diems, determine the […]
A federal disability policy agency sent a report and letter to the Obama administration on Aug. 23 urging a phase out of a controversial provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act that allows certified employers to compensate persons with disabilities at wages below the federal minimum wage. The FLSA section in question — section 14(c) […]
By Kara E. Shea Tennessee’s Unemployment Insurance Accountability Act, which takes effect September 1, amends the state’s unemployment statute in ways helpful to employers. For instance, the new law defines what constitutes “making a reasonable effort to secure work” for the purposes of unemployment insurance eligibility. It specifies that “making a reasonable effort to secure […]
A former police chief in Vermont was correctly classified as exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act’s executive exemption — despite the fact that he frequently had to perform patrol work — because the bulk of his duties were still considered managerial, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled Aug. 10. In spite of his status as […]